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Teachers' commons

Materials new teachers can bring to tomorrow's lesson, and materials experienced teachers use to rework their instruction.

Grade Level
Resource Type
19 resources

NHK for School | Teachers' Hub

The official NHK for School hub for teachers. Reverse-look up programs, worksheets, lesson plans, and case studies by subject, grade, and unit. The standard go-to for new teachers who need materials that connect directly to tomorrow's lesson.

Pick a program by unit → borrow questioning patterns from worksheets → redesign with your school's local material
ElementaryMiddle SchoolHigh SchoolTeacher
Lesson PlansVideoOverview
Official Video

Rekijin Net

A friendly Japanese-history encyclopedia readable from elementary up. Clear explanations of figures, eras, and events. A vocabulary foothold new teachers can use right away as the opening reading or prompt material for a lesson.

Search by the unit's name / era / place → pick one passage to use in the lesson opening → bridge to related maps and primary sources with a question
ElementaryMiddle SchoolHigh SchoolUniversityTeacher
Lesson PlansOverview
Kids' Entry

NITS | In-school Training Video Series

A series of short training videos produced by the National Institute for School Teachers and Staff Development (NITS) for use in in-school training. Specialists explain class management, lesson design, and student guidance. New teachers can use them for self-study; experienced teachers use them as material for school-based professional development.

Pick one video by a concern you have → after watching, write down one action you can try in your own class → share it with a colleague and iterate with short reflections
High SchoolUniversityResearcherTeacher
Lesson PlansMaterials & GuidanceVideoOverview
Official Video

MEXT | Special Needs Education

The Special Needs Education portal of the Ministry of Education. The official primary source that gathers the system, policy, handbooks, and practice cases. A set of resources that lets new teachers cover everything from classroom accommodations to individual instruction plans in one place — directly tied to daily practice.

Start from the overall framework → open the handbook for the relevant grade and type of disability → apply the individual education support plan / instruction plan template to your own case
High SchoolUniversityResearcherTeacher
Lesson PlansLaw & PolicyOverview
Open Data

MEXT | Courses of Study (with commentaries)

Primary information containing the Courses of Study for elementary, middle, and high schools together with the official "commentaries". The essential resource for experienced teachers who want to re-read the big directions of instruction.

Open the "commentary" for the target grade and subject → extract the goals and contents → align them with your school's yearly plan and put gaps into words
High SchoolUniversityResearcherTeacher
Materials & GuidanceLaw & PolicyPrimary SourceOverview
Open Data

NIER | Curriculum Research Center

The national educational research institute aggregating research outcomes and practical materials on curriculum, instruction, and assessment. New teachers learn from the practice case collections; experienced teachers use evaluation criteria and reports to situate their own teaching academically.

Search practice cases by subject × unit → extract integration of teaching and assessment → reflect in your own lesson design
High SchoolUniversityResearcherTeacher
Lesson PlansMaterials & GuidanceResearchOverview
Open Data

Geography Education Toolbox (GSI)

An education-oriented hub that organizes "how to use the GSI Map in lessons and inquiry". Lesson plans, practical examples, and downloadable materials are gathered together — a direct fit for experienced teachers reworking their instruction in Geography (General) and inquiry learning.

Decide one unit → try the procedure as written → keep screenshots and explanations as "evidence", and replace with your school's local material
Middle SchoolHigh SchoolUniversityTeacher
Materials & GuidanceOverviewMap
GISOpen Data

MEXT | Textbook System (Authorization & Adoption)

The Ministry of Education's official explanation of how textbooks are produced and selected in Japan. Read authorization criteria, the adoption system, and research surveys as primary sources. A resource for experienced teachers to re-situate "the textbook I use now" from the standpoint of the system.

Pick one authorization criterion and read it → check which ones your own textbook satisfies → compare with the structure of another publisher's textbook to widen your range of instruction
UniversityResearcherTeacher
Materials & GuidanceLaw & PolicyOverview
Open Data

StuDX Style (MEXT | GIGA School Practice Collection)

The Ministry of Education's portal gathering classroom practice with 1:1 devices. Ideas are organized by subject and scene so new teachers can picture the first step of ICT use concretely.

Filter by subject and grade → pick one practice and apply it to tomorrow's lesson → jot a short note on how it went
ElementaryMiddle SchoolHigh SchoolUniversityTeacher
Lesson PlansOverview
Official Video

NIER | National Assessment of Academic Ability

Official questions, commentary, and analysis reports from Japan's national academic assessment. Experienced teachers can benchmark where students stumble against nationwide data and refine their own instruction.

Open the commentary for the relevant subject/grade → extract misconception patterns → mirror the item type on your own quiz and adjust instruction
High SchoolUniversityResearcherTeacher
Materials & GuidanceResearchStatistics
Open Data

NIER | Education Research Information Database

A cross-searchable metadata database of educational research maintained by NIER — practice research, teaching materials, and survey reports. Useful for experienced teachers who want to rebuild instruction on top of prior knowledge.

Search by inquiry theme → narrow by year/institution → reach the primary source and secure one citable piece of evidence
UniversityResearcherTeacher
Materials & GuidanceResearchOverview
Open Data

Yamakawa & Ninomiya ICT Library (ywl.jp)

A textbook-aligned ICT teaching-materials library jointly operated by Yamakawa Shuppansha (Japanese history / world history) and Ninomiya Shoten (geography). Videos, slides, worksheets, and statistical materials are organised by subject and unit — a go-to teaching hub for social-studies teachers who need to quickly supply "the one extra resource" a daily lesson is missing.

Pick textbook publisher (Yamakawa / Ninomiya) and unit → grab the presentation materials and worksheets as a pair → swap in your own school's local material at one point for your grade level
Middle SchoolHigh SchoolUniversityResearcherTeacher
Materials & GuidanceLesson PlansOverview
Official Video

Teikoku-Shoin | Periodicals for Social-Studies Teachers

A group of free teacher-facing educational journals from Teikoku-Shoin delivering lesson-research examples, latest scholarship, and practice reports across geography, history, and civics. The family includes the education magazine "Kizahashi", the elementary-school "Children and Maps", the junior-high "Shakaika no Shiori", and the high-school "ChiReKo" — particularly strong support for geography teachers' materials research.

Read the journal for your school level first → imitate just one teaching sequence from a lesson-research example → note where each new scholarly topic fits in your annual plan and reuse it later
ElementaryMiddle SchoolHigh SchoolUniversityResearcherTeacher
Materials & GuidanceLesson PlansResearchOverview

Library of Congress | Teachers

The Library of Congress's teacher-facing page on using primary sources. Publishes primary materials for history, social studies, and literature together with questioning examples and lesson procedures. Useful both as source material for new teachers and as a reference model for experienced teachers designing inquiry-based lessons.

Pick a "Teaching with Primary Sources" case by grade and theme → mimic how questions pair with sources → redesign for your own unit and rebuild with Japanese primary sources (NDL / JACAR)
ElementaryMiddle SchoolHigh SchoolUniversityResearcherTeacher
Lesson PlansMaterials & GuidancePrimary SourceInternationalOverview
EnglishCultural Heritage

NHK for School

Integrated portal for school broadcast programs, web content, and archives.

Watch and note 3 key terms → record what caught your eye most → discuss 'Why?' at home or school
ElementaryMiddle SchoolHigh School
VideoMaterials & Guidance
Kids' EntryOfficial Video

NHK for School — Active 10: Rekideli

NHK's history delivery program: concise 10-min history topics for active inquiry.

Watch and note 3 key terms → record what caught your eye most → discuss 'Why?' at home or school
Middle School
VideoLesson Plans
Official Video

Learning About the World Through Geography (YouTube)

High school geography lesson videos by a working teacher, covering Geography General and Geography Advanced.

Watch and note 3 key terms → record what caught your eye most → discuss 'Why?' at home or school
High SchoolTeacher
Video
Official Video

StudyTube — Geography YouTube Channel Directory

A directory of educational YouTube channels for high school geography, earth science, world history, and Japanese history.

Open pages that interest you → note 3 words you understood → discuss and decide the next term to research
High SchoolTeacher
Video
Official Video

Meiji University — Geography Fieldwork Programs

Fieldwork programs and resources from Meiji University's geography specialization.

Open pages that interest you → note 3 words you understood → discuss and decide the next term to research
High SchoolUniversity
Materials & Guidance